Kudos to coach O'Brien; say goodbye to coach Spaziani

Sunday

This season could have been a disaster at Penn State in the wake of the Sandusky Scandal and the death of Joe Paterno, whose legend has been severely tarnished.

This season could have been a disaster at Penn State in the wake of the Sandusky Scandal and the death of Joe Paterno, whose legend has been severely tarnished.

Indeed, it started out that way, with loss at home to Ohio U. of the Mid-American Conference, followed by another at Virginia, when the Nittany Lions' kicker missed four field goals in a 17-16 setback.

SInce then, however, Penn State has won five in a row -- the latest a 38-14 romp over Iowa on Saturday night in Iowa City that gives the Nittany Lions a 3-0 mark in the Big 10 heading into next Saturday's showdown in Happy Valley with undefeated Ohio State.

That's a tribute to former Patriots assistant, and Brown University grad, Bill O'Brien, whose high-tempo, "NASCAR" offense, as he calls it, raced out to a 24-0 halftime lead over an Iowa team that had won at Michigan State the previous week.

Things are not going nearly so well on Chestnut Hill, where Boston College coach Frank Spaziani is another step closer to his inevitable firing after the Eagles fell to 1-6 in Atlanta, where they were trounced by Georgia Tech, 37-17.

The Yellow Jackets, who had given up more than 40 points in each of their three previous games -- all losses, not surprisingly -- racked up 407 yards total offense in the first half against the Eagles and wound up controlling the ball for a whopping 43:45 of the game's 60 minutes.

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